Rich Archbold: Watching the USS Iowa glide in 'like a gray ghost'

I was in the Pacific Ocean miles from shore. It was dark and cold. The boat was rolling back and forth. My stomach was churning. It was all I could do to keep from doing you know what overboard.

We had been on the open sea for almost seven hours Tuesday night and all I could ask myself was, "What am I doing here?"

Then the answer came. It was like a gray ghost gliding quietly by in the misty morning air: the USS Iowa, BB61, once one of the world's most powerful battleships. The ship is almost as long as three football fields and weighs more than 57 tons. And there wasn't anyone on board the great ship. What a sight!

I had left the Marina Shipyard with 11 men with stronger stomachs than mine at 10 p.m. Tuesday. The idea was to meet up with the mighty Iowa as it was being towed from San Francisco and shadow the ship to its temporary anchorage 3 miles offshore from Long Beach. We were in an 85-foot "crash" boat designed for the Army Air Force as a high-speed offshore rescue boat used in World War II.

Of the 140 crash boats of that size built, most were converted to fishing craft or yachts. Only one, P-520 - the boat I was on - has been restored to its original configuration by Bud Trotter and his son Jerry, owners of the Marina Shipyard at 6400 Marina Drive.

Our stalwart group was led by Nate Jones, owner of Jones Tires in Signal Hill and one of the founders and directors of the Pacific Battleship Center, a nonprofit organization which, after years of struggle, lobbied and won the bid to permanently berth the ship in San Pedro.

After several hours of rolling with the waves in P-520, someone shouted excitedly, "There she is!" For a moment, I was too groggy to enjoy the sight, but it didn't take long to forget the nausea and join in the applause. We were the first to welcome the battleship to offshore Long Beach and Seal Beach.

Jones was especially moved. He called Marge, his wife, and Mildred, his 97-year-old mother, on his cellphone to tell them everything was going OK.

"I've been on the Iowa, but this is the first time I've seen her on the open sea in my hometown, Long Beach, the city I love. This is so special," Jones said.

Others applauding on P-520 included John O'Flaherty, Larry Schlich and Nate Jones Jr., who works with his father; Jeff Ryan and Tony Wesson, who work for Marina Shipyard; Don Broker and Glenn Dobbs, longtime friends of the Shipyard's Tretters; David Rosner, a professional videographer; and Jeff Stickler, president/CEO, Catalina Adventure Tours.

Jerry Tretter captained the boat despite suffering from an infection following foot surgery. During the night, he had to get an IV injection to keep his strength up.

"That's real dedication," Jones said, patting Tretter on the back. Tretter's father, Bud, had wanted to go too, but he had a more serious illness and couldn't make it.

Bud Tretter was assigned to a crash boat during the Korean War along with a pal, Joe Placente, who flew from his home in Tom's River, N.J., to be aboard P-520.

After the initial sighting and hurrahs by the crew, news helicopters showed up, followed by media and sightseeing boats.

While waiting for the Iowa to drop anchor, Jones talked about how he fell in love with battleships, especially the USS Missouri and the Iowa.

"I got hooked on battleships when I was 10 years old and went to the Long Beach Naval Shipyard to see the USS Missouri," he said. "An officer took us all over the ship. I became a Missouri junkie and got a chance to actually steer the ship years later in the open sea. I was so nervous I froze at the wheel. It was an awesome experience."

Jones and others tried to get the Missouri, and later the Iowa, to berth in Long Beach, but those efforts fell through.

But Jones and the Pacific Battleship Center succeeded with the Iowa going to San Pedro, where they want to establish the battleship as a museum for its educational, historical and financial benefit.

Jones is especially interested in using the Iowa and the P-520 in his nonprofit work teaching young people hands-on skills such as mechanics (the organization is called Kids, Hands and Minds Together).

"Too many young people don't know how to use their hands to do things," he said. "They're afraid to get their hands dirty."

As the Iowa anchored for three to four days for hull cleaning before moving to San Pedro, the sun finally broke through and the P-520 and its exhilarated crew headed for its berth after a memorable night at sea.